Did you know that almost 200 million people worldwide—about 40% of the world’s population are suffering from some form of thyroid disease? Thyroid problems can cause several symptoms like fatigue, weight gain, anxiety, mood problems, and insomnia that can impact your day-to-day life.
Fortunately, there are certain things you can do to naturally balance your thyroid hormones while also adopting some healthy habits at the same time.
Here’s a complete guide to understanding thyroid problems and balancing your thyroid hormone levels with exercises and diet for a better quality of life.
Thyroid problems – An overview
The thyroid is a small butterfly-shaped gland that plays a crucial role in regulating several functions like heart rate, body temperature, and energy stores in the body. When the thyroid is not working properly, people experience several health problems that can affect their daily life.
There are two types of thyroid problems –
Hypothyroidism or underactive thyroid
A condition where your thyroid gland does not secrete enough thyroid hormones for the body.
Symptoms include:
- Weight gain
- Fatigue
- Hair loss
- Constipation
- Dry skin
Hyperthyroidism or overactive thyroid
A condition where your thyroid gland secretes too much thyroid hormones than the body needs.
Symptoms include:
- Insomnia
- Anxiety
- Weight loss
- Excessive perspiration
- Frequent bowel movements
- Rapid heart rate
Balance Thyroid Hormone Levels with Exercises and Diet
Exercising regularly is a great way to improve your overall health and well-being. Exercising daily improves fluid circulation, lowers stress levels, and helps with better body weight management. All of these factors are essential for maintaining healthy thyroid hormone levels.
1. Aerobic Exercises
Moderate exercise activities like 20-30 minutes of brisk walking, jogging, cycling, and swimming, which fall under aerobic exercises, can support better heart health, boost metabolism, and aid in better body weight management. These aspects are essential for upholding thyroid health.
2. Yoga
Yoga is well-known for its therapeutic and stress-reducing benefits. Specific yoga poses, like the shoulder stand (Sarvangasana) and fish pose (Matsyasana), target the thyroid gland and are believed to have positive effects on thyroid hormone function by stimulating blood flow to the thyroid gland.
3. Strength Training
Incorporating strength training exercises using resistance bands, free weights, or body weights exercises, such as squats and push-ups can help you counteract some of the effects of hypothyroidism.
Strength training also reduces the chances of muscle loss, improves heart health, and regulates blood glucose levels, all of which are essential for treating thyroid issues.
4. Pilates
Pilates is a popular low-impact exercise that focuses on core strength, flexibility, and controlled movements. It can help improve posture, strengthen muscles, burn calories, and enhance overall body awareness. Pilates can be an ideal choice for thyroid patients looking for ways to lose weight.
Eat a Balanced Anti-Inflammatory Diet
One of the best things you can do to balance your thyroid levels naturally is to eat a balanced anti-inflammatory diet. By eating vitamin and mineral-rich food and avoiding those that lack essential nutrients, you can keep your thyroid hormones functioning properly.
1. Vitamin D
Since vitamin D helps to regulate thyroid hormone production and plays a role in immune function, it’s an essential nutrient for thyroid health. Food sources including fatty fish like tuna fish, salmon, trout, and sardines, cod liver oil, dairy products such as milk and yogurt, hard-boiled eggs, and fortified cereals can be a part of your diet for proper vitamin D intake.
2. Iodine
Iodine plays a major role in T3 and T4 production, as well as thyroid-stimulating hormone production. Iodine in the body gets absorbed by the thyroid cells and combines it with the amino acid tyrosine to create T3 and T4.
It is important to increase the consumption of seafood, sea vegetables, and animal-based protein like milk and dairy products to maintain healthy levels of iodine in the body.
3. Selenium
Selenium is another micronutrient that helps to convert the thyroid hormone into its active form. Selenium is found in animal-based protein foods, cereals, and seafood. However, it is important to consult your doctor regarding increasing selenium in your diet if you have hypothyroidism and low iodine levels.
4. Be Mindful of Your Sugar Intake
Since high blood sugar levels lead to higher production of insulin, this can trigger thyroid tissue hyperplasia and lead to nodule formation and thyroid gland enlargement.
Keeping this in mind, it is important to be mindful of sugary food items and beverages like soda, fast food meals, desserts, and sweetened drinks for healthy thyroid hormone levels.
Get Diagnosed for Thyroid Disease
To know if you have thyroid disease and health issues, get a thyroid profile blood test done to check your thyroid hormones and TSH levels. It is important to consult your doctor if the values go outside the normal ranges.
The normal range values for T3, T4, and TSH measurements include:
- Total T3 – 60-180 ng/dL
- Total T4 – 5 to 12 μg/dL
- TSH – 0.5 to 5 mIU/L
Conclusion
Regular exercise, along with a balanced diet is important for everyone, but it’s especially crucial for people with thyroid conditions. It is also important to manage your stress levels, get quality sleep, and avoid smoking and excess alcohol consumption for better management of thyroid issues and improve your well-being. Remember, these routined changes aren’t just meant for your thyroid; they are for your overall health too.
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Author – Ankita Mondal (Content Writer, INFS)
